This volume celebrates the 65th birthday of Lucio Milano, Professor of History of the Ancient Near East at "Ca' Foscari" University in Venice, and honors his many achievements as a prolific scholar and a beloved teacher. The thirty-seven essays included in this compendium, written by friends, colleagues and pupils, reflect Lucio's wide-ranging work and interests. They are presented under eight sub-headings: Eblaite Studies, Food in Ancient Societies, Administration and Social History, Political History, Landscape, Archaeology and Material Culture, Lexicography and Literary Criticism, The Ancient Near East in Modern Thought, Digital Tools for the Study of the Ancient Near East. The range of the essays involves not only a diversity of topics, but also wide geographical and chronological span, from third millennium BC Mesopotamia to 19th century Europe. The volume concludes with an exhaustive series of indices, including thematic sections with special reference to paleonutrition, social, economic, and political history.